The Dalek Invasion of Earth
(DVD)

 

Starring William Hartnell
6 Episodes
1964
147 minutes (black and white)
Double Disc


 

 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
William Hartnell

Barbara Wright
Jacqueline Hill

Ian Chesterton
William Russell

Susan
Carole Ann Ford

Written by
Terry Nation
Directed by
Richard Martin

Produced by
Verity Lambert

Original Airdate
Nov 21 - Dec 26, 1964

US DVD Release Date
October 2003

Warner Home Video
#E1813

U.K. Cover



 

Cover Blurb
Radiation nil, oxygen normal, pressure normal, yet London is deserted, with no sign of life and no sense of normality. Exploring the decaying city sometime after 2164AD, the Doctor and his companions soon learn that it is not as empty as it seems. The Daleks - far from having been destroyed on Skaro - have conquered the world.

Nearly wiped out by storm and plague, the Earth's population has been commandeered by the Daleks into huge mining operations.  Some humans have suffered the further indignity of being transformed into Robomen to serve the Daleks in their diabolical plans. Humanity's only hope for survival lies with a small band of resistance fighters who need all the help they can get.

 

 



 

DVD Features
 

Disc One
All 6 episodes as they were originally transmitted in 1964.

 

  • CGI Effects Sequences:

 This feature gives you two choices...

The first option is to view all of the newly created "retro" style CGI effects as one sequence (with ambient sound effects added).  This mainly consists of shots of Dalek ships rampaging across the skies of London.

The second option allows you to view these effects within the program itself rather than the original effects.  Remember, if you don't go in to this feature and activate it, then the original effects will be the default.
 

 
  • BBC1 Trailers:
 Not one, but two original trailers for the story screened on BBC1 in 1964!
 

 
  • Commentary Option:
 A highly anticipated commentary from William Russell (Ian Chesterton), Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Verity Lambert (producer) and Richard Martin (director).  Long time Who fan and producer of the Big Finish radio plays, Gary Russell serves as moderator.
 

 
  • Information Text:
 Another improvement to the DVD range was the addition of this feature.  Lots of trivia and tidbits of Whovian detail are provided.  The text appears intermittently along the bottom of the screen and is written by Richard Molesworth of the Doctor Who Restoration Team
 

 
 

Disc Two
The remaining DVD bonus features.
 
  • Special Introduction:
 Located on Disc Two (extra features) and voiced by a Dalek.  It warns the viewer against unauthorized duplication of the disc content on pain of extermination.  Fun little snippet!
 

 

  • Future Visions:

 An interview with designer Spencer Chapman about his work on the story.  Also included are many rare photos and clips.  An interesting segment.
 

 

  • Future Memories:

 A 45 minute featurette filled with interviews of actors Ann Davies (Jenny), Bernard Kay (Tyler), Nick Evans (Dalek operator), Peter Fraser (David Campbell), David Graham (Dalek voice) Peter Hawkins (Dalek voice) and Nicholas Smith (Wells) who reminisce about working on the series.  One of the best features offered up on this title.
 

 

  • Talking Daleks:

 A 10 minute featurette highlighting the artists who lent their voices to the creation of the Daleks and how the distinctive voices were first conceived and made real.  Contributing interviews with Brian Hodgson (BBC Radiophonic Workshop), David Graham (Dalek voice) and Peter Hawkins (Dalek voice).
 

 

  • Now and Then:

 A featurette showcasing many of the locations used to film the story and comparing them now to back then.  Naturally geared more for people who live in the U.K. and are more familiar with these locales.  Not an uninteresting featurette, though.
 

 

  • From Script To Screen:

 This featurette is described on the Doctor Who Restoration Team's website as "a unique graphical visualization using the original studio floorplans to show how the cameras follow the camera script to move around the studio floor to track the action."
 

 

  • 40th Anniversary Celebration:

 A specially created "music video" celebrating the first 40 years of the show's history.  The video uses quite a few clips spanning the entire history of the series.  A variation of the signature theme song (as performed by the group Orbital) is used in the video.  It runs for approximately 3 minutes.
 

 

  • Blue Peter:

 Blue Peter was a children's show back that ran for many years.  In this 7 minute clip the host (Valerie Singleton) instructs the viewers on how to make a Dalek cake.  It is best described as "unintentionally funny."
 

 

  • What Ever Happened To Susan Foreman?:

 Made for BBC Radio in 1993.  Jane Asher plays the character of Susan Foreman and chronicles her story after the events of "The Dalek Invasion of Earth."
 

 
  • Rehearsal Film:
 Recorded by actress Carol Ann Ford on 8mm film on the final day of rehearsals.  No sound and double exposed with images of a later vacation, this footage still gives a rare and tantalizing glimpse of the backstage efforts at that time.
 

 
  • Photo Gallery:
 A collection of both black and white as well as color photographs showing many publicity stills from the production of this story.  Many of the pictures are rare or even never before seen.  Rather than clicking through each image this time they have them play for a specified amount of time and then move on to the next image.
 

 
  • Who's Who:
 A feature unique to the North American DVD releases.  It lists short biographical information on many of the actors involved in the story.
 

 
  • Easter Eggs:
 There are 2 eggs included in this release.  Highlight the blank area below to find out more information.  For a full list of known Easter Eggs and screen grabs of them click HERE.

 

#1 SID TITLE CARD
Go to the 'Special Features' menu on Disc Two.
Click on the hidden Doctor Who logo to the left of the '40th Anniversary Celebration'

 

 

#1 SID'S DATE
Go to the 'Special Features' menu on Disc Two.
Click on the hidden Doctor Who logo to the left of the 'Whatever Happened to... Susan?'

 

 
 

 

 

 

Additional Notes

  • The Daleks proved to be so popular from their first season appearance that they were brought back for a second adventure, this time on Earth.  Their return was capitalized early on in the second season.
     

  • Susan, the Doctor's granddaughter, leaves at the end of this story, suffering the fate of many female companions to come after her...falling in love and staying behind to get married. 
     

  • Apparently, in order to film the streets of London so they looked deserted, the production team had to go out and film on an early Sunday morning.

  • "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" boasted quite a few lavish sets and special effects for that day and age.  Quite a bit of money was poured into the return of the Daleks.

  • Due to the continuing popularity of the Daleks, this story was revamped a couple of years later for the big screen.  Peter Cushing played the Doctor in that story which played as a sequel to the first Dalek movie.
     

  • All 6 episodes have been VidFIREd.  VidFIRE is a process that returns the "video" look to the program as it was originally broadcast.  To learn more about this process you can read about it at the Doctor Who Restoration Team website.
     

  • "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" was given the usual expert cleanup treatment by the Doctor Who Restoration Team.